Stuart Ingle invited to join governor's summit

SANTA FE — Portales’ Stuart Ingle is one of a dozen key state figures invited to join Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham next week for a summit on domestic terrorism.

According to a release from the governor’s office, the summit would be to “analyze and discuss proactive measures that will decrease the risk of domestic terrorist acts in the wake of the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso ... which law enforcement authorities are investigating as a hate crime.”

The summit will include a briefing by the FBI. Also invited are Attorney General Hector Balderas, Senate Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, House Speaker Brian Egolf, House Minority Leader James Townsend, House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, Maj. Gen. Kenneth A. Nava, Deputy Adjutant Gen. Miguel Aguilar, Public Safety Secretary Mark Shea, State Police Chief Tim Johnson and Homeland Security Secretary Jackie Lindsey.

Ingle, who serves in the Legislature as Senate Minority Leader, said Monday afternoon he’d just heard about the summit and his presence on it shortly before the governor’s 4 p.m. press release; he didn’t yet know any details beyond his participation. When told of the other participants, Ingle said the list made sense and that he would make some calls over the next week in preparation for the summit.

Lujan Grisham said her goal for the summit is to discuss steps the state can take in conjunction with local public safety jurisdictions.

“I want to know: What can we do to be a step ahead? What can we do right now to ensure New Mexicans are as protected as they can be against acts of hate and mass terror?” Lujan Grisham said. “The gun violence this weekend in El Paso, reportedly inspired by hatred toward a specific group of people, was a sobering reminder: It is too easy for dangerous, violent and mentally ill individuals to obtain an instrument of mass death in this country, and hateful rhetoric can directly lead to destructive and heinous acts. In New Mexico, we will be on the front foot, and I look forward to this discussion.”